Chloe Chambers topped the Formula E Women’s Test for Mahindra, as Nico Bulega gets MotoGP seat for two rounds and James Calado extends with Ferrari.
It was a very productive day of track action for the second running of the Formula E Women’s Test. The two three-hour sessions saw a grid of 14 talented women take to Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, with Chloe Chambers and Mahindra Racing setting the best time. The Women’s Test opportunity, which was double the length of the inaugural Women’s Test last year, is part of Formula E’s commitment to aiding diversity in motorsport and helping build relationships between drivers and the world-class teams and manufacturers in the championship.
Chambers dominated both sessions, setting a best overall time of 1m22.767s in the afternoon session for Mahindra. The F1 Academy star comes with a successful racing resume, and has been working hard behind the scenes with the team ahead of today’s experience. It was more good news for Mahindra Racing, after Edoardo Mortara went quickest of the Official Test after four days’ running earlier in the week.
Last year’s quickest driver Abbi Pulling was second for Nissan, just 0.064s off Chambers time today. Bianca Bustamante wound up third for CUPRA KIRO, with Alice Powell finishing fourth despite missing a large part of the afternoon session after a battery systems error on her Envision Racing machine. Her teammate Ella Lloyd was fifth, followed by Jamie Chadwick (Jaguar TCS Racing), Tatiana Calderon (Citroën Racing) and Valencia-born Nerea Martí (Andretti) eighth.
Super Formula’s Judu Noda was ninth for Jaguar, with this being her first experience in a Formula E car. Marta García completed the top ten with Lola Yamaha ABT. Gabriela Jilkova was 11th in her Porsche with her teammate Janina Schall in 13th. DS PENSKE’s talents, Jessica Edgar and Lindsay Brewer finished 12th and 14th, respectively. Several of the full-time Formula E drivers stayed around to offer help and guidance throughout the day, and work with the team on gathering data ahead of the first round of the 2025/26 season opener in São Paulo on 6 December.
Result: https://x.com/formulaesource/status/1984219868233871812
https://x.com/sarahandmakeup/status/1984318676753952967
How last day of Formula E test panned out (links to all days): https://t.co/ivTC8TlCmX
Nico Bulega –
At the Portuguese GP, scheduled the next week in Portimao (November 7-9), Nicolò Bulega will make his MotoGP debut with the Ducati Lenovo Team. The Aruba.it-Racing Ducati rider, 2023 Supersport World Champion, 2024/25 production-based championship runner-up, and MotoGP test rider for the Borgo Panigale factory, will replace Marc Márquez for the final two rounds of the season.
In Portimao, Nicolò, who tested the Desmosedici GP for the first time yesterday at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, will crown the milestone of his 100th race in the World Championship (50 races in Moto3 and 49 races in Moto2) with this important achievement.
Nicolò Bulega (Ducati Lenovo Team #11): “I’m very happy to be able to end a season like this one with a last-minute surprise. Making the MotoGP debut is the dream of any kid who aspires to become a rider. Plus, being able to ride the World Champion bike for the final two race of the 2025 makes everything even more exciting. It’ll be a big gamble; I have no expectations.
“I’ll take this experience calmly, especially because, so far, I’ve only been able to test the Desmosedici GP at Jerez. That said, I’m certainly motivated to do well and give my all. Thanks to Ducati and Ducati Corse for their trust, to Claudio, Gigi, Mauro, Davide, Stefano, and Serafino for making me feel their full support and to Team Aruba.it Racing, with whom we finished a season as protagonists.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (General Manager of Ducati Corse): “I’m very happy to see Nicolò working on the Desmosedici GP. Nicolò has been part of the Ducati Corse family since 2022, when we wanted him to ride the Supersport bike. We believed in him, and he repaid us with two seasons as an absolute protagonist in Superbike, where he came close to the title and became our reference point as a rider.
“Furthermore, for next year we announced his commitment, together with Michele Pirro, in the developing the Desmosedici GP with new tires, and the opportunity to race in the final two GPs is the best way to begin working in this new role as a test rider. It will certainly be demanding, but I hope he’ll be able to enjoy this experience: for a young rider, making the debut in the top category of our sport is a great satisfaction.”
James Calado –
Ferrari is pleased to announce the multi-year extension to its contract with James Calado, continuing the collaboration with the British driver that began in 2014. Originally from Worcester, England, the Ferrari official driver won three Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ World Championships with the Maranello-based brand in the LMGTE Pro category of the FIA World Endurance Championship, in the 2017, 2021 and 2022 seasons, driving the AF Corse team’s 488 GTE alongside Alessandro Pier Guidi.
In addition to winning the overall victory at the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023 with the number 51 499P, the Englishman achieved two LMGTE class victories in the legendary French race, in 2019 and 2021. The British driver, born in 1989, has achieved 27 wins and 62 podium finishes with Ferrari over the 130 races contested with the Prancing Horse. His first podium came in 2014, when he finished third in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps at the wheel of the 458 Italia GT2. His first World Championship victory instead arrived in 2016, at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, driving the 488 GTE.
In addition to his commitment behind the steering wheel of Ferrari GT3s, with which he won the 24 Hours at Daytona in the GTD Pro class in 2024, Calado has been competing in the top category of the World Endurance Championship at the wheel of the Ferrari 499P since the 2023 season. With this car, the Englishman has achieved three victories (Le Mans 2023, Imola and Spa 2025) and seven podium finishes in 22 races so far.
James Calado: “I’m delighted to remain in the Ferrari family as an official driver. I’ve achieved many successes with the Prancing Horse in recent years and I’m convinced that together we can pass some big chequered flags in the future as well. There’s recently been a lot of speculation about what I was going to do in the future. In reality, all I wanted was to keep on competing for Ferrari. Now we’re crossing our fingers because in a few days we’ll be in Bahrain for the last round of the FIA WEC, aiming to achieve our dreams of becoming world champions.”
Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti: “The contract extension represents continuity: we take great satisfaction in pursuing a professional journey with James, who over the last 11 years has enabled us to achieve many titles and successes of particular importance, among which I’d like to recall victory at the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2023. So it’s an honour to be able to keep counting on James’s contribution, a driver who’s a fully fledged member of the Ferrari family.”
Other news –
CIP updates on Noah Dettwiler’s conditions: https://x.com/CIPMOTO/status/1984294986809016706
